I bought my first power drill from Woolies ya know.

Ah, the memories of all that. As a youngster in the 50s, Woollies was like an Alladins Cave to me, can't think of much they didn't sell then, we even used to buy sheets of shoe leather there and the wax for finishing the heals after repair.

One of my abiding memories of Woollies back then was in the cafeteria, almost always upstairs and no matter which branch you went into the scene was almost identical. Some old biddy with arms the size of a weightlifter and wearing a headscarf would line up a couple of dozen cups in a square and proceed to fill them from a teapot the size of a dustbin, no stopping, just kept pouring until the last one was filled. finished up with tea all down the sides of the cup but you didn't dare complain. Still, that was the Wonder of Woolies.

Mike

R4 reported that Woolies flogged off all its property years ago and entered a rent back deal. At rents which can only go up - not down.

Woolworth in South Africa is owned by Marks and Sparks. The insides are near identical and they are nothing like Woolies here being more upmarket.

According to one news story I read, they got rid of their freeholds several years ago on a sale and leaseback deal. A key reason the company is all but worthless is that the moment you buy it you become responsible for all the rent payments.